conversed; conversing; converses
1
: to exchange thoughts and opinions in spoken words or sign language : talk
We spent a few minutes conversing about the weather.
The leaders were bellowing so loudly that you had to shout to converse with your dinner partner.—
Christopher Buckley
Christopher Buckley2
archaic
: to have acquaintance or familiarity : to become occupied or engaged
… admonished them to study … the universe, to converse with nature, to observe the heavenly influences; …—Robert Ainsworth
Robert Ainsworth… a secluded scholar, living in his study and conversing almost exclusively with books.—Cornelius C. Felton
Cornelius C. Felton
con·verse
ˈkän-ˌvərs 
1
dated
: conversation
… Mrs Walker, like many other mothers, was apt to be more free in converse with her daughter than she was with her son.—Anthony Trollope
Anthony TrollopeGraham Bretton had dined with us that day; he had shone both in converse and looks.—Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë2
archaic
: social interaction
con·verse
ˈkän-ˌvərs
: something reversed in order, relation, or action: such as
a
: a theorem formed by interchanging the hypothesis and conclusion of a given theorem
b
: a proposition obtained by interchange of the subject and predicate of a given proposition
"No P is S " is the converse of "no S is P. "
con·verse
kən-ˈvərs
ˈkän-ˌvərs
ˈkän-ˌvərs
1
: reversed in order, relation, or action
Socrates, while he said that the true tragic writer was also an artist in comedy, did not lay down the converse proposition that the true comic writer is also an artist in tragedy.—Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander2
: being a logical or mathematical converse
the converse theorem
Synonyms
Examples of converse in a Sentence
Verb
They conversed quietly in the corner of the room.
At home we often converse in Spanish.
Adjective
One must also consider the converse case.
Recent Examples on the WebMekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
Barron, Trump’s youngest child and his only one with Melania, was raised to be bilingual and frequently called his grandmother to converse in Slovenian.
—Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Just as consumers immediately grasped the value of conversing and getting info with ChatGPT, the tech industry’s eyes suddenly opened to the potential of how large language models could unlock a whole new set of powerful capabilities.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2024
By automating tedious tasks like scheduling, AI allows employees to devote more time to the personal aspects of their jobs, such as conversing with customers, training new recruits and thinking strategically and creatively about how to improve the overall business experience.
—Michael Spataro, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The two musicians are a romantic couple as well as creative collaborators, and to converse with the two is to have a front-row seat to the most charming mutual-appreciation society conceivable.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, all three models are improving in analysis and forecasting, content creation, code generation, and conversing in languages other than English, including Japanese and French, Anthropic said.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024
The new Stack Overflow deal comes just a week after Google reached a licensing agreement to hoover up data from Reddit, the discussion forums operator, whose content has helped chatbots’ ability to converse.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
Ohtani and Dodgers coaches have conversed more directly in the dugout and the clubhouse, according to multiple coaches.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Paresh Dave, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Orban converse during a signing ceremony of several agreements between the two countries on February 17, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary.
—Luke McGee, CNN, 28 Jan. 2024
As many college students on winter break are wont to do, Zahara dressed for comfort in black sweats, a puffy North Face Jacket, and grey converse sneakers, while Jolie matched her daughter's cozy vibe in an elevated monochromatic look.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 28 Dec. 2023
After inviting the uncle’s spirit to the hut, Kulas converses back and forth with the spirit by throwing a pair of weathered jiaobei, or wooden divination blocks, on the floor.
—Brendan Ross, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2023
Beatriz and the pianist converse briefly in stilted English, neither’s first choice of language.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Talking things out is possible as the perceptive Moon in your social sector converses with amiable Venus in your conversation zone.
—Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023
In 2046, a marine biologist (Sienna Miller) converses with the world’s last humpback whale, through software that translates cetacean-speak into the voice of her mother (Streep).
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Kylie was wearing a red and white Kool-Aid hoodie, matching sweatpants and white converse sneakers.
—Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 12 May 2022
Verb
As generative AI is integrated into common search engines and voters converse with chatbots, people seeking basic information about elections have at times been met with misinformation, pure bunkum, or links to fringe websites.
—Mekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
Barron, Trump’s youngest child and his only one with Melania, was raised to be bilingual and frequently called his grandmother to converse in Slovenian.
—Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Just as consumers immediately grasped the value of conversing and getting info with ChatGPT, the tech industry’s eyes suddenly opened to the potential of how large language models could unlock a whole new set of powerful capabilities.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2024
By automating tedious tasks like scheduling, AI allows employees to devote more time to the personal aspects of their jobs, such as conversing with customers, training new recruits and thinking strategically and creatively about how to improve the overall business experience.
—Michael Spataro, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The two musicians are a romantic couple as well as creative collaborators, and to converse with the two is to have a front-row seat to the most charming mutual-appreciation society conceivable.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, all three models are improving in analysis and forecasting, content creation, code generation, and conversing in languages other than English, including Japanese and French, Anthropic said.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024
The new Stack Overflow deal comes just a week after Google reached a licensing agreement to hoover up data from Reddit, the discussion forums operator, whose content has helped chatbots’ ability to converse.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
Ohtani and Dodgers coaches have conversed more directly in the dugout and the clubhouse, according to multiple coaches.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
The 90-minute call, which included two interpreters to help her and the subject converse, went well.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Orban converse during a signing ceremony of several agreements between the two countries on February 17, 2015 in Budapest, Hungary.
—Luke McGee, CNN, 28 Jan. 2024
As many college students on winter break are wont to do, Zahara dressed for comfort in black sweats, a puffy North Face Jacket, and grey converse sneakers, while Jolie matched her daughter's cozy vibe in an elevated monochromatic look.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 28 Dec. 2023
After inviting the uncle’s spirit to the hut, Kulas converses back and forth with the spirit by throwing a pair of weathered jiaobei, or wooden divination blocks, on the floor.
—Brendan Ross, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2023
Beatriz and the pianist converse briefly in stilted English, neither’s first choice of language.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
Talking things out is possible as the perceptive Moon in your social sector converses with amiable Venus in your conversation zone.
—Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023
In 2046, a marine biologist (Sienna Miller) converses with the world’s last humpback whale, through software that translates cetacean-speak into the voice of her mother (Streep).
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Kylie was wearing a red and white Kool-Aid hoodie, matching sweatpants and white converse sneakers.
—Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 12 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'converse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near converse
Cite this Entry
“Converse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/converse. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
converse
2 of 3 noun
con·verse
ˈkän-ˌvərs
: something that is the opposite of something else
converse
3 of 3 adjective
con·verse
kən-ˈvərs
ˈkän-ˌvərs
: reversed in order, relation, or action
conversely
adverb
Etymology
Verb
Middle English conversen "to live with," from early French converser (same meaning), from Latin conversari "to pass one's life, be associated with," derived from convertere "to turn around, change," from con- "with, together" and vertere "to turn" — related to anniversary, converse entry 3, controversy, divert, reverse, universe, vertical, versatile, vice versa
Adjective
from Latin conversus, past participle of convertere "to turn around, change," from con- "with, together" and vertere "to turn" — related to converse entry 1
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